A symbol of imagination and novelty, this one is of its kind garden which has been designed as an open-air exhibition hall using urban and industrial wastes by Nek Chand, a former Road Inspector in Chandigarh who started the garden secretly in his spare time in 1957.In his spare time, Nek Chand started collecting materials from demolition sites around the city. He recycled these materials into his own vision of the divine kingdom of Sukrani, choosing a gorge in a forest near Sukhna Lake for his work. The gorge had been designated as a land conservancy, a forest buffer established in 1902 that nothing could be built on. Chand’s work was illegal, but he was able to hide it for 18 years before it was discovered by the authorities in 1975. By this time, it had grown into a 12-acre (49,000 m2) complex of interlinked courtyards, each filled with hundreds of pottery-covered concrete sculptures of dancers, musicians, and animals.

The layout of the garden is based on the fantasy of a lost kingdom. The moment one enters the garden, the small entrance doors which make the head bow, not only creative an ambience of royal but also impart humbleness. One has to pass through a verity of doorways, archways, vestibules, streets and lanes of different scales and dimensions, each one opening into a new array of display or courtyards and chambers lending an air of suspense and curiosity at every corner, at every turn.

The Rock Garden is completely built of industrial and home waste and thrown-away items.
Various sculptures made up of broken glass,bottles, bangles, china ware, discarded fluorescent tubes, clay ,electrical waste and coal juxtaposed to create a dream folk world of palaces, soldiers, monkeys, village life, women and temples.. Walls of terracotta pots and the maze of paths, canyons and chambers display the great creativity. There is also a 14 chamber edifice with a waterfall, puddles, statues of animals and birds. The Rock Garden is one of the prime attractions of Chandigarh and is a must visit.

REVIEWS

“It is completely made of raw material and waste material. It is a great place to visit.The picturesque of that place is very tempting. It is a nice place where one can spend the whole day appreciating the beauty of the Art”